Parts & Labor
by MakeshiftParadox
Summary: Set after the destruction of the Reapers, this story details the further journey of Commander Shepard, as she sets out to start a new life with the love of her existence, and the obstacles that she'll need to overcome along the way. FemShep/Liara. Obviously some femslash. Rating subject to change. Keepin' it clean for now.
1. Better Off

_So this.. this is what death is like. I never really paid attention last time, but now.. I'm going to remember this. In these last moments.. I feel good. Maybe this is what Anderson felt like.. at peace. With yourself. With the galaxy. I did it. I killed the Reapers. Every last one of those bastards, _***shudder***_, and they're safe. My friends, Earth.. everyone. But Liara, I'm leaving her behind. Will she move on without me? _***shudder* **_She spent 2 years mourning me, I promised her.. I promised that I was coming back, no matter what. I can't leave. I don't want this peace. I want her. I need to live. I need to..._

"Shepard! Shepard!" Another piece of debris was lifted off of Ren's body, the pressure disappearing, she now had the ability to breathe. Too bad the rest of her body was still constricted, her arms scarred, burnt, painful to move. Her legs were snapped practically in half, the pain making her want to lose the little thread of consciousness that she had left. Though she had the ability to breathe, her broken ribs seriously made her not want to. Death promised her peace, to be free from this pain. She slapped the Grim Reaper's hand away, however, as this woman that she was going to leave behind.. her life here was too promising. She may have to deal with pain for a while, but she'd had to deal with pain her entire life. Another couple of months with it was okay with her, because being with her beautiful asari gave her salvation. A reason to come back. She was always going to come back.

"Shepard! Renala, please. Please be alive," Liara screamed her lover's name in rapturous verbatim, praying to the Goddess that she was alive. _She always promised that she would come back. She has to come back. _Liara was several meters ahead of the rest of the search party, the most determined to find the Commander. Finally, she pulled the last piece of debris off that was hiding her lover, who was now in plain sight, lying there among the wreckage.

"Shepard! Wake up, please!" Liara shook her lover hysterically, tears dragging down her cheeks, ready to promise her soul to the asari equivalent of the Devil, just so that she could have her Shepard back.

_Is that Liara's voice? Calling me? Who's shaking me? _Renala slowly peered from under her eyelids, want to see who her violent savior was. She opened her eyes to see a blue figure, wearing white armor, gleaming, slightly reflecting the light of her omni-tool flashlight. She looked like a goddess in the brilliant beam. _Liara!_

Renala suddenly gasped, quickly trying to sit upright, all pain gone from her body, the adrenaline replacing her oxygen.

"Shepard!" Liara gasped as she pulled her lover into a passionate kiss, overwhelmed that Shepard had survived this near-death experience. Coming slightly to her senses, she gently pushed herself into Shepard, causing her to lay back on the ground.

"Don't sit up, Shepard. Help is coming. We're going to get you to a medical station, alright?" She softly pushed Shepard's grimy brown hair out of her eyes, smiling widely in relief.

"I came back, Lili. Like I promised," Shepard croaked from the ground, looking into the asari's brilliant blue eyes. They were like an ocean she could drown in, and not mind. _Death can't keep me from those eyes._

"Liara! Where are you?" Shepard could hear Garrus' flanging voice, originating from not that far away. She could see the other flashlights among the rubble, belonging to the rest of the search party.

"I'm right here, Garrus, and I found Shepard! Tell the other party members to grab a stretcher!"

"Shepard's alive?" Garrus yelled back in reply, his voice drowning in disbelief. Inwardly chuckling, he thought, _Just like Shepard to beat death __**twice**__. That girl is definitely stubborn._

"Yes, Garrus, now call for help!" Liara screamed back impatiently, fear dripping into her mind, making her wonder if Shepard would die if they waited to long to fix her injuries.

"Go grab a stretcher, you two," he said to two human members of the search party. "We have a Commander to save."

* * *

I apologize that this is so short. I just wanted to get the story started, and this seemed like a suitable place to stop. This story is basically my take on what happens after the "good" destroy ending where Shepard supposedly lives. This story will be rated T for now but I'm planning on it becoming M sometime later on. I hope you liked reading this little portion, and please review.

Also, sorry to those that are turned off by me not using the default Jane Shepard. I never play the default characters in Mass Effect, and I like my fanfics to be representative of my experience with the game. My female character is Renala "Ren" Shepard, a colonist, sole survivor, vanguard. She is a paragon, mostly, but slow to anger, and when you do.. may your god have mercy on your soul. She's a reluctant, yet natural, leader. So maybe expect some whining in this story. Sorry if she doesn't fit your definition of who Shepard is, but yeah.. just don't read.


	2. The Running Free

"How is she, doctor?"

"Well, we've sedated her, as the pain from her various injuries would probably be too much if she was awake. To be truthful, Dr. T'Soni, I'm surprised she survived the trip over here without literally _dying_ from the pain. I can't even imagine having as many burns, broken bones, and holes in my body that that girl has. She must have some strong resolve," Shepard's doctor looked down at his datapad, reviewing his notes on her condition. It still made him shiver a bit when he remembered the condition she had come to him in. He hadn't even known where to start on her injuries, looking at the various applications of medi-gel on her body.

"Yes, she's.. very stubborn. She has a strong will to live. She's seen too much death in her life," Liara looked down nervously and played with her fingernail, anxious about Shepard's condition. It hadn't looked too good when she found her, either. "May I go in to see her? Just see what it's like?"

"I'm sorry, Dr. T'Soni, but we have a policy that we usually only let people with close relationships to the patient in when they're in this condition. May I ask what your relationship to Shepard is?"

"I'm her bondmate." Liara stared the doctor down, starting to feel angry that she wasn't allowed to go in and see the woman she loved.

"Her.. bondmate? Right, what would that mean in human terms? I'm not that familiar of asari culture, I'm sorry." The doctor backed down a bit, alarmed by the look in T'Soni's eyes.

"I'm basically her wife."

"Really? I suppose you can go ahead, Dr. T'Soni, though I may need to verify that. But you don't seem like you would want to cause any harm to the patient, anyway." The doctor backed away from the doorway, clearing the way for Liara to enter.

"Verify whatever you want." Liara struggled to keep her biotics in check, starting to flare in her anger.

She entered the hospital room, with stark white walls, and reflective white-colored tile, it smelled undeniably like antiseptic, and was disconcertingly serene enough to drive a person mad. She looked out the window, out over the rubble of what used to be the great London. Watching the Big Ben beginning to crumble into pieces brought back memories of that run to the beam, and what Shepard said when Liara was injured and called the Normandy to evacuate.

_"Shepard, I'm fine, I can still fight," Liara said, struggling to stand. She had to hold onto James for support._

_"No, you're hurt, Liara. Go on, don't argue with me." Shepard anxiously looked behind her, wondering how much time there was before Harbinger noticed the Normandy and blew them all away. She had to complete the mission, hadn't Liara realized that?_

_"Please, Shepard. I need to go with you." Tears started streaming down Liara's cheeks, as reached out for Ren._

_Shepard began walking forward, taking Liara's face into her hands. "Liara, listen to me. You mean everything to me. You're my universe, and I couldn't do any of this without you. Now, I need you to go on, and live. I want to know that you're safe, that you're always going to be there, for me to come back to you."_

_"I love you, Renala," Liara whispered, the tears quickening their pace._

_"I love you, too." __**CRASH**__ "Go, go! James, take her to the medbay, quickly." Shepard un-holstered her assault rifle, readying her biotics. She watched as James snapped off what could be his last salute, and as Liara reached her hand out for her as she was carried off into the ship._

_"I'm yours, Shepard." She had said as she was carried back into the Normandy, and watched as her bondmate turned, returning to battle, ready to risk her life to save the galaxy. 'Risk our life,' Liara had thought. 'What it could've been.'_

Dr. T'Soni looked down at the figure in the hospital bed. The great Commander Shepard, her details softened in sleep. Her face had been cleaned of the blood and grime that had been there in the rubble, and therefore looked more pure. Younger, innocent. Ironic, considering all the death and destruction she had seen in her life. From the death of her entire family, the death of her friend Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, the demise of her friends Thane Krios and Mordin Solus, and the perhaps hundreds of enemies that she had killed on missions. Liara remembered the scars that she had when they first met, souvenirs of her ordeal on Akuze. Now removed by Cerberus, the Commander's clear and almost flawless skin made her look much younger than her 31 years.

Liara placed a hand on her bondmate's cheek, finding relief in how warm it was. Shepard's skin had been so cold when they found her, it made Liara fear the worst. The asari listened, to the steady breathing of her lover. The calmness of the room made her body realize just how much trauma it had been through today. She found tranquility in sleep, next to the one she loved.

**Time had passed**, and Liara woke up to find Shepard smiling at her, the dimple forming in her left cheek that Liara loved so much.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Ren placed a hand on the asari's head, bringing her closer so that she could plant a soft kiss on it.

"Shepard," Liara gasped, now wondering how long she had been asleep for, "are you okay? Is the pain too much, I recall that's why the doctors sedated you."

"Nah, I'm good," Shepard said, her voice still rough from sleep. "They pretty much pumped me with enough pain relievers to take down a krogan. I've got a pretty bad headache, but I can manage regardless. What about you, did you get Chakwas to fix up your leg the other night? It looked pretty bad."

"Yes, I'm fine. You're always worrying about me, Shepard, even when you're obviously in pain yourself. You don't have to pretend to be invincible for me, Renala."

"Who said I was pretending?" she chuckled, "And anyways, asking you about your condition is the least I could do. You're pretty much the only reason I'm alive."

"Don't say that, Ren. I wasn't carrying you to the Crucible beam, now was I?"

"No, but it was what you had said before you got in the Normandy that did. If you never said that, I wouldn't have had any reason to want to stay alive. Do you know how much pain I was in as I laid in that debris? Your voice was the only thing that kept me from slipping away. I had to destroy the Reapers, and live to tell about it, because I promised you. I promised that I would do it, and that I would come home. That we would get married, move away, and have a bunch of little blue babies. I'm still holding you to that, by the way," Shepard chuckled.

"And when have you ever broken a promise to me?" Liara smiled as she leaned into her bondmate's shoulder.

"Never, and I definitely wasn't going to start then," Shepard smiled as she placed another kiss on her asari's forehead. She had come home, and they were going to start a new life, begin building a family. She couldn't bear leaving when the Alliance and Council needed her most, so she was going to help in the rebuilding effort. Once that was over, however, she was going to start life anew with her beautiful bondmate, Liara T'Soni.

* * *

I wrote another installment as soon as I finished the other one. Thankfully this one is longer, and hopefully less corny. Or maybe that was Garrus' statement at the end of the last chapter. This is story is going to be like my other one, Memory Police, where chapters are named after song lyrics.

The song is The Running Free by Coheed and Cambria. I obviously don't own Mass Effect, as my endings wouldn't be as crappy. I would hope to think.

Please review, and thanks for reading, all. I appreciate the follows and favorites that I've gotten so far.


	3. Semi-Constructive Critcism

Mild cursing abound. Beware.

* * *

"Liara."

"No, Shepard," the young asari whined.

"Yes, Liara," Ren mockingly whined back. "You need to go. You've been by my side for the past two days, now. Not that I don't enjoy the company," she said when she saw her bondmate glare at her, "but you sort of stink. Go find an open hotel, buy some clothes, enjoy a soak. I'm not going anywhere," she chuckled.

"NO, Shepard. I'm fine. I can shower here at the hospital."

"But change into what? A hospital gown? As much as I enjoy seeing that blue ass of yours, I don't really appreciate you showing it off to the sick bastards around here."

"Shepard," Liara glowered.

"They'd hide their pills in your dimples!"

"Shepard!" Liara yelled in exasperation, not entirely in the mood for her lover's jokes. "Why are you so anxious to get rid of me?" She arranged her lips into a pout, hoping that she could persuade Shepard with it.

She wasn't having it.

"I'm not trying to get rid of you, Lili. It's just unhealthy for you to remain here for so long. I'm fine, the doctors said that I'm recovering nicely, for someone with the majority of her bones broken," she sighed, "and you catching some sleep and taking a bath isn't going to change that. Now. Go."

"But.." the asari pouted again.

"GO. Don't argue with me, Liara." Shepard emphasized her point by gently pushing Liara out of the bedside chair, softly shoving her in the direction of the door. Liara began slowly shuffling her feet, slumping out the door, telling Shepard that she'd be back soon.

Not too soon after Liara left, Shepard was treated to another guest.

"Commander Shepard, you have a visitor," the nurse informed her over the intercom connected to her room.

"Who is it?"

"A Major Kaidan Alenko, ma'am."

"Send him in, please. Thanks."

"You're very welcome, ma'am. Call if you need something." The intercom clicked off as Kaidan entered the room, wearing his military fatigues.

"Hello, Commander," his rough voice greeted her as the door slid shut behind him.

"What's going on, Alenko?" Shepard hadn't meant it purely as a greeting. She wanted to know what was happening out there, beyond those hospital walls.

"Surprisingly, not too much. All of the Alliance's resources are being used to repair the mass relays, and help living victims of the Reaper attack here on Earth. It just feels so.. done, you know?"

"I know what you mean, Kaidan. Like there's so much to be done, but for once they aren't relying on you to do it," Shepard mused. Kaidan was right, things did feel so finished when there weren't a billion things and even more lives riding on them.

"So what're you planning to do next, Commander?"

"I don't know, Kaidan. I'll probably decide to vacation in what remains of Disneyland. Maybe go to the beach, see if Garrus really _would_ drown in more than two feet of water."

"Same ol' Shepard sense of humor, huh?" Kaidan chuckled, taking a seat in the chair beside Shepard's bed.

"You know it," she laughed. "Was there something in particular that you wanted, Kaidan?"

"Yeah, two things, actually. I wanted to see for myself that you were alright. You obviously are, save for a few broken bones." Kaidan chuckled again, rubbing his recently-gone-furry chin.

"And the other thing?" Renala asked, raising an eyebrow to Kaidan's newly apparent anxiousness.

"I... Well, I.. uh..," he stalled, quickening his beard-stroking pace.

"Kaidan," Shepard sighed, knowing that there was only one topic that could bring him this much nervousness, "does this happen to be about what used to go on between us?"

"Yes," he lowered his head in defeat. "Commander, I-"

"- Renala."

"What?"

"Renala. I know that you're aware of my first name, Kaidan. If this is you professing your love for me, at least call me by my given name."

"I'm sorry.. Renala," he said, testing the name on his tongue. He had always known about her first name, but he thought it had been specially reserved for Liara's lips, as she was the only one who'd dare call her that in public. _That's a pretty name,_ Kaidan thought.

"Go on, Kaidan," Shepard said somberly. She already had her response in mind, but she still wanted to hear what he had to say.

"I.. Okay. Renala, to tell the truth, I was hoping that you'd be unconscious when I told you this."

"What?!"

"No, not like that! I was hoping I wouldn't have to say this to your face, but I can't chicken out now. I was hoping to tell you back when we first arrived on Earth, but I was too scared, then. Now that you've survived.. I feel like the Universe is giving me a second chance. I don't know if I'll ever get another opportunity like this..."

"Definitely not with the way Liara has been all over me," she deadpanned, but amended when she saw the look on Kaidan's face and said, "Not like that."

"Right..." he said awkwardly. "Anyway.. I wanted to tell you that I love you, Renala."

"Kaidan..."

"Just wait. Please. I've loved you since that we had, remember? It was right after Eden Prime..."

"You know that I'm with Liara-"

"And I also know that you chose Liara over me, but I just can't.. I just can't let go, Renala. I'm in love with you. I'm sorry if you don't want to hear it, but it won't stop being true."

"What about when we reunited on Horizon, Kaidan? What about what happened on the Citadel, during the Cerberus coup?" Ren _didn't_ want to hear this now, especially after all the shit they had been though together. His backhanded comments about her potentially betraying them, him threatening to _kill her_, and it took both Garrus and Liara's pushing to make him stand down. After all that, he has the quad to come and say that he _loved her_?

"I was confused, Shepard! Udina had been feeding me those lies, and you never took the time to try and alleviate my doubts. I was scared!"

"You were scared?! Screw being scared; how do you think I felt when I realized that my _best friend_ didn't trust me? The man that I would entrust my _life_ to? The man that I thought I loved!" Shepard heard the heartrate monitors behind her beep rapidly, but she couldn't care less, even though it meant a visit from the nurse, and in turn Liara, who had instructed the doctors to keep her frequently updated on Shepard's condition. _Frequently_ updated.

"Wait, you loved me?" Kaidan asked in disbelief, disregarding the beeping monitors as well.

"I thought that I did. When I was helping Cerberus, and I heard that you were on Horizon. I already knew that Liara had become an information broker, and that she was aware that I was alive. I thought that she had given up on me, and that I should've been with you to begin with. That maybe we could reconcile. It turned out to be the other way around."

"You never contacted me!"

"I didn't. Even. Know. Where. You. Were," Shepard said, each word punctuated with a fist connecting with her bed rails. "I didn't find out that you were on Horizon until we were sent there."

They sat in silence for a few moments, until Kaidan decided to speak again.

"I can see that we're just going to continue going in circles, Shepard. We're kicking up more old shit than your girlfriend did as an archaeologist," said Kaidan.

"Nice one," Shepard giggled, her heartrate beginning to reach normal levels again, "I doubt Liara would appreciate it, though."

"Right, she'd probably correct me on how she didn't _kick up_ old shit, but rather _carefully digged it up._"

"Exactly."

"So, I don't have a chance, then?"

"Kaidan, I love you just-"

"Not like that. I get it, Shepard."

"Right," Shepard said as Kaidan got up to leave. "Wait, Kaidan." She grabbed his arm.

"What is it, Shepard?"

"Don't make yourself a stranger, Kaidan. No matter what may or may not've happened between us, you're still one of my few friends left in this world.. and I care about you."

"I won't make myself a stranger, I promise. I'll.. I'll come back to see you in a couple of days. Is that alright?"

"Perfect."

"Okay, then." Shepard released his arm and he continued his trek to the door. Before leaving, he turned back and said, "By the way, Shepard, can you please not tell Liara about our conversation today? I don't want her to flay me with her mind, or use her Shadow Broker resources to release embarrassing pictures of me on the extranet, or something."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Kaidan. She'd just find out whenever we decided to meld, anyway."

"Ew. Okay, Shepard. I've gotta get back to it."

"Goodbye, Kaidan. Godspeed."

"Godspeed, Renala."

A few minutes after Kaidan left, Liara entered the room.

"Liara? Why are you back so soon? Love the new outfit, by the way."

"Thank you, Shepard, and I happened to get an alert on my omni-tool from the nurse, telling me that you had an abnormal increase of heart rate. Care to tell me why that was?"

"Uh.. no?"

"Shepard..." Liara said menacingly.

"Fine, fine!" Shepard held up her arms in surrender. "Kaidan was here and we got into a little.. quarrel."

"A quarrel? About what?"

"His undying love for me?"

* * *

There it is. Yes, my Shepard did get awkward cutscene with Kaidan and Liara during ME1. To be honest, I hadn't even realized that some of the options I had picked during conversations with him _were_ romantic.

Anyways, thanks for reading, and reviews are appreciated. Thanks so much for those who have reviewed, followed, and favorited so far.

This chapter is named after Semi-Constructive Criticism by Circa Survive.


	4. Time Consumer

She was in a field, surrounded by doors. Three on her left, the same number on her right. The antique, wooden constructs were usually seen in older houses on Earth, ones built as much as centuries ago. They were vaguely familiar, and she knew how to enter them. She chose the first one, the one on the farthest left side of her.

It was like falling into an abyss, a flashback was playing, but the lights were off. She could hear voices, having a familiar conversation that made her stomach rise up to the bottom of her throat.

"No, Shepard, leave me! Go get her!"

"No. Get Alenko, Commander!"

"But, Ash-"

"You know it's the right choice, LT!"

A moment passed, and Shepard was disgusted at how it had only taken her a couple of minutes to reach her conclusion. Make the decision. _That short? Did I seriously only take that much time to decided whether a person should live or die?_

"I'm sorry, Ash. I had to choose."

"I understand, Commander. Just know, Shepard, I don't regret a thing."

The scene around her shifted, and she was back in the field. The door she had gone in before was now in shambles, a pile of woodchips, where its beautiful predecessor had once stood.

Something drove her to enter the next door, where she was once again plunged into darkness.

"Let me ask you, Shepard-Commander.. does this unit have a soul?"

"I'm not sure if _I_ have a soul, Legion."

"Fine. What I mean is.. do you believe that this unit is.. alive?"

"Of course, Legion."

"Just as you, and any other organics are?"

"Just as, if not more..."

Her reverberated in her skull, driving her to put her hands over her ears. _Legion... He was alive, he sacrificed his life.. to save the Geth. And my actions destroyed them all. I could've stopped it. It's my fault my friend is dead._

She felt a sob raising in her throat, making her cry out, though no sound escaped. As much as she wanted to cry, no tears would fall. _Damn it. I can't even have the satisfaction of crying! It's like I'm trapped here, like I'm trapped in my own mind. Am I that unworthy of sadness?_

Once more, the scene around her shifted from a disconcerting obsidian blank to the empty forest she had been in before. Four doors remained now, the one she had just entered had fallen like the first.

She resisted the temptation to enter the next door. Dizzyness made the earth spin, feeling her legs buckle under her weight, she crumpled into a heap on the ground. Something, unseen, crashed into her side, causing her to fall over onto her side, the breath knocked out of her lungs. She tried to inhale, catch her breath. As she attempted to stand back up, the same mysterious force from before grabbed her by her middle, and roughly shoved her into the last door on her left.

Sent back into the darkness, she wondered what oh-so-happy memory she would have to recall next.

"Kolyat, my son... you speak as the priest do. You've spent time with them."

"I've brought a prayer book. Commander, would you care to join me?"

"Of course, Kolyat."

"Kalahira, this one's heart is pure. But beset by wickedness and contention."

"Guide this one to where the traveler never tires, the lover never leaves, and the hungry never starve. Guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you as she was to me."

Shepard didn't even want to recall what happened next. She wanted this to end, she wanted to leave. She had seen enough death and pain in her life. Why did her mind want her to see it, over and over again? Her friends, the ones she trusted, the ones she loved. Who would she lose next?

"Kolyat, why did the last verse say she?"

"The prayer was not for him, Commander. He had already asked forgiveness for the lives he has taken. His wish was for you. His last wish."

Suddenly, the emptyness around her contracted, then expanded to reveal the image of the currently playing memory. She was seeing through her own eyes again, the sight of her friend in his hospital bed. He was there, but absent all the same.

"Goodbye, Thane. You won't be alone long."

Her surroundings changed again, back into the forest she had been in before. The rest of the doors had disappeared, the ones she had gone in before, piled into an accumulative heap. She dropped to her knees, the reliving of her memories overwhelming her. She had repressed so much of the heartache she had experienced throughout her life; her mind wasn't equipped to handle reliving it all in one night.

She looked up from the dead leaves on the ground to see a bright figure.

"Renala Shepard..." The figure's voice carried through the wind, making the flying leaves seem like they were whispering in her ear themselves.

The figure slowly approached her, and revealed itself to be Liara. She was wearing an outfit similar to Matriarch Benezia's, but colored a pure white.

"Learn to appreciate your current suffering, dear. It will increase tenfold.. in time. Of which you don't have much left."

Shepard snapped awake, drenched in a cold sweat. She looked into the darkness of her hospital room, scared that she was still trapped in her nightmare. The silence of the night, except for the steady beeping of her heart monitor, reassured her. The worst was over, for now.

She looked out of her bedside window, up into the sky. There, she could see Luna, once again beaming moonlight on the rest of the downtown area. The buildings all around her looked as if they were about to fall, but she found comfort. Comfort in the moon, comfort in the silence. Enough to revert back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Quite short, but I hope you guys like it. I've really appreciated the follows, reviews, and favorites I've gotten, so thanks to those. To answer one reviewer: Yes, I've definitely played all three games. I first played ME1 on Xbox a couple years ago, hated it, thought it was too complicated. Left it alone, grew up, and now it's my favorite series. I just recently bought the Trilogy for Xbox, as I was missing the ME3 online pass, and I wanted the free ME2 DLC.

Also, funnily enough, Ren did romance Thane in my old save game for her. The one that I lost when my old Xbox Arcade died a slow and painful death. That's why his death hit her so hard in this headcanon. According to how I see her personality as being, Thane is a perfect match for her. She just hates loss, and couldn't bear entering a relationship knowing that the one she loved was going to die.

Song for this chapter: Time Consumer by Coheed and Cambria


	5. Harbor

Moderate curse words ahead (including Jamaican ones)... Cover your ears, kiddies!

* * *

"Shepard?" Liara entered her bondmate's hospital room, testing to see if she was awake. There was no reply. The human was usually awake at this time, but not now.

The steady beeping of the heart monitor assured Liara that her lover was still alive, but it was unusual for Shepard to be asleep at this time in the afternoon. Liara did tend to be an early bird, but Shepard wasn't exactly a night owl. Unless pressing thoughts came to disturb her sleep. That happened frequently back on the Normandy, but Liara was always there with her to help comfort her.

The asari stepped forward and placed a gentle kiss on her human's forehead. This caused Shepard to stir, suddenly aware that someone's lips were touching her head. Liara stepped back, wondering if Shepard's militarial instincts were going to kick in and cause her to connect a well-placed biotic punch to the asari's head.

Ren slowly opened her eyes, the bright lighting in the room initially too much. Finally, she was able to look up and see the thing she cherished most in the world. She smiled, but her happy expression soon dropped when she saw the door slide open, revealing her nurse.. holding a bedpan.

"You have _got_ to be fucking kidding me," Shepard mumbled under her breath. She hated changing bedpans when Liara was here. It made her feel outwardly self-conscious and weak. That wasn't the Shepard she wanted to portray to her bondmate.

"Please, Commander. It will only take a second," the nurse said, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Bumboclot, man," Shepard hissed, a Jamaican curse word that she would frequently hear her father exclaim when she was young. Liara looked puzzled for a moment, wondering if her translator had malfunctioned. She resolved to ask Renala what the word meant later. Now, she stood and giggled at the commander's exasperated expression. Shepard's brown skin was tinted red at the cheeks, her shoulder-length dark brown hair hung over her face.

Once the procedure was done, Shepard glared at the asari in front of her, angry that she was finding enjoyment in her embarrassment.

"By the way, Commander, Dr. Bloomfield would like to speak with you in a moment."

"What? Is she okay? Are there any complications?" Liara asked, anxious and fearing the worst.

"I'm sorry, Dr. T'Soni. I don't know. All he said is that he wanted to speak to her on the subject of her test results. I do not know in which context. He should be here in a moment." She smiled at the patient and the maiden, then shuffled out of the room.

"What's wrong, Lili?" Ren asked when she saw tears begin to well in the asari's eyes. She hated seeing Liara cry, and hated the reason for which she was crying. Worry for her well-being. "Hey, come here," Shepard offered her embrace to her bondmate, "it's gonna be fine. He's probably just coming to tell me that everything is fine, and that I can leave tomorrow."

"I doubt it, Renala." Liara turned away from the woman in the hospital bed, trying to push the thought from her mind; the ever present thought that she may lose the one she loves most. Ever since the war ended, Liara had become more emotional, losing her tough exterior in the relief that she wouldn't have to face more loss. Or so she thought.

"Why the _fuck are you always so negative, Liara_? Are you just wishing for me to die, that's why you can't wait to hear the words?" Shepard was yelling in a whisper, the coldest of expressions on her face. She hated hearing her lover say such negative things, to remind her of the fact that she was still mortal. She may be the catalyst, but she was still a human being.

Liara was surprised by the outburst, but before she could respond, the doctor entered.

"Hello, Commander. Dr. T'Soni," he greeted in his strong Irish accent. He looked down at his datapad and sighed, obviously not seeing good things. "Dr. T'Soni, if would please sit down. Commander.. stay where you are." Shepard rolled her eyes, Liara's heart fell to her stomach. "Commander," he began, "I have bad news. I've consulted everyone, from your friend Dr. Chakwas, to one of the top salarian doctors in the _galaxy_. No matter the amount of notes and data that I've collected in the past week that you've been in my care, I can't find anything that would refute my conclusion."

"And what, exactly, is your conclusion, Doctor?" Liara had struggled to get her question out, now having sufficient reason to be worried. Shepard just blankly stared at him, replaying her mind what Liara had said in her dream. _...in time. Of which you don't have much left._

"The commander's body is rejecting her synthetic implants. They're beginning to malfunction. They're causing her to heal almost twice as fast as she was able to before, but they're overheating."

"Overheating? Can you clarify? Wouldn't she be dead already?"

"Not neccessarily. They're gradually becoming overworked, emitting heat. Her body can tolerate it.. for now. She may just have a perpetual fever, worsened when injured and the implants have to heal her. After a while, their heat emission will become too much. Her organs will effectively become _cooked_ in her own body."

Renala was numb. She turned her head to see Liara's reaction. Her blue face was painfully blank, giving Shepard a slight chill. Ren had expected tears, not to see her lover look like she had given up.

"How long?" Liara croaked.

"Pardon?" the doctor asked, quite apparently uncomfortable, nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"She means, how long until I kick it?" Shepard found herself clarifying. _Some part of me knew that this was going to happen. I knew this wouldn't end well._

"I've ran several simulations, and had varying estimates. Everything from a decade to nine. I don't see you living the ideal human lifespan of 150, though. I'm sorry, especially considering the fact that your partner is an asari. My sister-in-law is an asari, she explained to me the.. pain of being with shorter-lived species."

"Well, is there anything we can do to get the ninety year estimate?"

"Not much, really. You could maybe live in an area with a colder than average climate? Try to avoid getting injured, undertaking any superhuman feats, you know.. stuff like that. The most I can say is to tone it down; realize that your body has limitations if you want it to last very long."

"I never really got it confirmed, but are my implants Reaper tech? Is that why they're beginning to stop working?"

"They're not completely Reaper tech or they would have stopped working completely. But yes, I do see evidence that the fact that they are _based_ upon Reaper technology is why they malfunctioned. They would've stopped working eventually though."

"What do you mean?" Liara asked.

"They're synthetic. Formed by computers, they are technology. Technology becomes obsolete, technology dies. I hate to sound so pessimistic, but I hope you weren't expecting to last forever with those things," the doctor tried to sound sympathetic, but he was so young that he hadn't much practice with it.

"Can't you just remove them?" Liara questioned, as if it was a notion that the doctor had never himself considered.

"Considering that would take major surgery that the commander would more likely than not die of _regardless_, no I can't. Besides, the implants are what's keeping her alive." The doctor looked back down at his datapad, reviewing the notes he had made on this subject.

"What?" Shepard asked, befuddled.

The doctor sighed, he hated being asked questions. Sometimes he wondered why he didn't just become a silent lab technician. "You're quite technically just a reanimated corpse. The implants send currents that keep your heart beating and your brain functioning. Having them removed, you immediately go into cardiac arrest, and simultaneously become braindead."

"I see... Well, thank you for not enacting the procedure."

"You're quite welcome, Commander."

* * *

This turned out much shorter than I expected, guys. Sorry, one of these days I'll muster up enough brain power to be able to write a +3,000 word chapter. Until then, you get bite-sized pieces. I appreciate the follows and new reviews I've gotten. Thanks, everyone.

I hope no one was confused by my "catalyst" metaphor in the beginning (middle?) of the chapter. Shepard hasn't replaced our precious Starchild or anything. But when you really think about it, and read the definition for the word catalyst, Shepard is the _true_ catalyst of the Mass Effect series.

Thanks again, sorry for my long author's notes, and the song for this chapter is Harbor by Kaddisfly.


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